You Only Live Thrice
by zzilly14
Summary: Final story in the Moving On Trilogy. A crossover with a certain British spy. Takes places in the autumn following the Angel series finale. Giles becomes involved in a sticky situation when Buffy seeks his help. Chapters 1 and 2 slightly edited.
1. Chapter 1

_Joss Whedon and Ian Fleming are the geniuses behind these characters. I'm just borrowing them for a little while, so please don't sue me!_

**You Only Live Thrice  
****Chapter 1**

by Zzilly14

"A martini... shaken, not stirred," said the ravishing British gentleman as he winked at the female bartender.

"It's always the same with you, James," another British man said as he turned around to face his listener.

"What can I say?" the man called James grinned. "They're better shaken."

The other man shook his head before taking James' hand. "Good to see you, old friend."

"You know, Rupert... I wish we could meet under better circumstances."

Rupert nodded, before taking off his glasses and cleaning them with his handkerchief.

"Do you have any more information concerning the case in Italy?"

He was silent.

"Damn... Rupert, you know how important this is... not only for England's sake but for the world's. Tell me what else you know."

"Look, James... I love her as if she was my own daughter..."

"But she's a threat, Rupert. As long as she's involved with the Immortal, she's a threat."

"I've betrayed her before," the former librarian said, his mind wandering off to a faded memory of his Slayer's upset face. "I am not doing it again."

"I cannot believe you..."

"Then don't," he snapped. "I'm sorry I can't help you, James. And while I don't understand some of the choices she's made, I trust her. There's more to her than meets the eye."

"I've already read her file," he replied shortly.

"Then we have nothing more to discuss. Good night, Mr. Bond."

* * *

"Giles?" said a small voice on the other end of the line.

"Buffy! Good to hear from you! How is Rome?"

"Hot. A couple of days ago, anyway."

"And now?"

"I don't know. I'm not in Rome."

"Then where are you?"

"We have to talk, Giles. Meet me at the Gandhi statue in Tavistock Square in an hour."

"Buffy?"

Click.

* * *

Giles arrived at the square a few minutes before he was to meet Buffy. It was a cloudy day, yet fairly mild for an October day in London. He walked up to the little memorial in the center of the square and sat down on its steps.

"Long time no see," a long-haired blonde said as she stood in front of Giles.

The former Watcher looked up and smiled, standing up to give her a hug.

"I've missed you, Giles," she said.

"Same here, Buffy," he replied as they began walking towards an empty bench. "Now, what's wrong?"

"I'm in trouble, Giles."

"The Immortal?"

She nodded as they sat down. "But it's not what you think," she quickly added.

"Care to explain?"

"He's mad at me."

"Oh?" Giles said. "So you came to me for fatherly advice?" he grinned.

"No, I came to you because he wants me dead."

Giles' grin quickly disappeared. "The Immortal wants you dead? Whatever for?"

Buffy's eyes looked towards the ground. She breathed a heavy sigh before replying. "I'm pregnant."


	2. Chapter 2

_Joss Whedon and Ian Fleming are the geniuses behind these characters. I'm just borrowing them for a little while, so please don't sue me!_

NOTE: If you read my story there's one part where I mention an "Oyster card" and fail to explain it. So I decided to explain it up here in an author's note. The Oyster card is London's travel card, used on the Underground as well as on the famous double-decker buses. I miss London. sigh Okay enough of that, on to the story!

**You Only Live Thrice  
****Chapter 2**

by Zzilly14

Rupert Giles was shocked. Although Buffy was an adult and made her own choices, he thought this was pretty damn stupid of her. Pregnant? And with the Immortal's child? He would've rather it be Spike Jr. than the spawn of the Immortal.

"Are you going through with it? Is that why he's angry?"

"Giles, it's kind of hard to explain... but I'll try," she added when she saw he was about to open his mouth. "I want this baby. Yeah, it's probably not the smartest thing to do... but it's my child. I can feel this little life growing inside of me. I can't just destroy that."

"Of course."

"When I told him... he yelled at me. Said I was a whore and never wanted to see me again. So I left."

"Why do you think he's trying to kill you?"

"He likes for things to go his way. I think when he realized I was gone, he got even angrier. His henchmen have been tracking me every night. Good thing they're pathetic vampires..." She sighed. "If I hadn't gotten pregnant, none of this would've happened."

Giles embraced his Slayer and began to stroke her hair. "You'll get through this, Buffy. You're strong."

"And I've got you to protect me," she said softly.

* * *

"Giles, there's someone on the phone who claims to be James Bond," Andrew Wells said as the new head of the Watcher's Council entered his office (also known as the backroom to the Muswell Hill Bookshop) the next day. "Which is ridiculous because he's a fictional character. And anyway, he doesn't sound like Timothy Dalton."

"Thank you, Andrew. Please close the door on your way out. And don't try to eavesdrop."

"I won't. I'll just be playing solitaire on the computer. Or maybe Free Cell. That's fun too..."

"Actually, Andrew... take the rest of the day off. Go downtown and... do whatever it is you people of the younger generations do nowadays."

"Can I use your Oyster card?"

"Yes, now please go," Giles groaned as he shooed his assistant out of the room.

"James?" Giles said, picking up the phone after he made sure the door was closed.

"Rupert, I know you're busy with starting up the Watcher's Council again, but I need your help."

"Don't tell me... you're having a vampire problem again?"

"I wish! No, I'm working on this case in Rome. Someone's taken over the Colosseum."

"Excuse me?"

"It's odd, I know. But a group of people – although I doubt they're people – are guarding it. None of the police can get through... there's some sort of forcefield to keep everyone out."

"Or everyone in," Giles thought aloud.

"Perhaps... Anyway, we have an idea who's behind it. But we need your expertise to help us figure out how to take this gentleman down."

"I find it ironic you label him a gentleman."

"Well, he is a gentleman in Rome's eyes. They adore him over there. He's definitely a ladies' man."

"You're one to talk, James," Giles chuckled.

"Rupert, what do you know about Angelo De Luca?"

"I don't believe I've heard of him."

"Come on, he must be in your demon books or something. I know he's not human."

"I'll have to do some research, then. I have a Slayer who was living in Rome recently, she probably can fill me in."

* * *

"Who wants to know?"

Giles and Buffy were eating lunch at the Pizza Express in Muswell Hill, awaiting their appetizer of Baked Dough Balls.

"A friend of mine who works for MI6."

"Did you tell him about me?"

"Just mentioned there was a Slayer in Rome who could provide some information."

"Do you trust him?"

"Yes, yes I do. Buffy, what are you worried about?"

Buffy lowered her voice to a whisper. "Angelo De Luca. He's the Immortal."


	3. Chapter 3

_Joss Whedon and Ian Fleming are the geniuses behind these characters. I'm just borrowing them for a little while, so please don't sue me!_

**You Only Live Thrice  
****Chapter 3**

by Zzilly14

"Angelo De Luca is the Immortal?"

"Yes."

"And the Immortal is Angelo De Luca?"

"Yes," Buffy replied. "He practically owns Rome. That's why I had to get out of there. I couldn't trust anyone."

All Giles could do was sigh. This situation seemed to be getting even worse by the minute.

"Giles, I know I've screwed up. Why do I always fall for the wrong guy?"

Giles cleaned his glasses for the fourth time since they sat down. Here she was again, looking to him to be a father with advice. Not that he didn't like it...

"Because you're human," he smiled softly.

"Well, I may be human, but it seems every guy I'm attracted to isn't!"

With a cough, Giles said, "Riley was human."

Buffy stared at him for a moment before laughing.

"That was a fluke," she finally said. "Most of the time, I'm liking the undead guy from the Dark Side."

Giles made a smirk.

"Oh god, I just make a Star Wars reference. I need to stop talking to Andrew on the phone..."

"Buffy," Giles asked, thinking back to their situation. "What exactly is the Immortal? Is he a demon?"

"Not exactly..."

"Vampire?"

"Of course not."

"Warlock?"

Buffy mumbled something.

"What?"

She said something, but he couldn't make it out.

"Just tell me, Buffy!"

"He's a freakin' god, all right?"

"Bloody. Hell."

* * *

"Bloody hell!" was James Bond's response when Giles informed him of Angelo De Luca's identity.

"My thoughts exactly," Giles replied as he had a sip of tea in his office. Andrew was thankfully not in that morning, and being a Sunday, the shop wouldn't open until noon. So he didn't mind leaving the office door unlocked as he talked on the phone.

"What else does your friend know?"

Should he tell him about her romantic involvement? No, too personal, and who knew if someone was listening in. But then again, maybe MI6 could provide extra protection...

"Actually, James, my friend had a relationship with De Luca."

"Sexual relationship?"

"I didn't ask, but the fact that she's pregnant is all the answer I need."

"Pregnant?" Bond suddenly said, sounding worried. "With De Luca's child? Rupert, do you know what this means?"

Giles had no idea.

"This is not good, Rupert. Not good at all. You should probably read your bloody prophecy books to find out why."

"What the hell are you getting at?"

"I've studied some materials relating to your field of expertise. Your friend's a Slayer, right? Well, the child of a Slayer and a god is not a good thing."

Giles grabbed a book off the shelf and began scanning its pages. He stopped on one and quickly read through its paragraphs.

"Oh no," Giles said. "Not another apocalypse..."


	4. Chapter 4

_Joss Whedon and Ian Fleming are the geniuses behind these characters. I'm just borrowing them for a little while, so please don't sue me!_

**You Only Live Thrice  
****Chapter 4**

by Zzilly14

"You wanted to see me?" Buffy asked as she entered the Muswell Hill Bookshop that evening, upon seeing Giles behind the counter.

"Yes, yes I do. Let me help these last few customers – the shop closes in about ten minutes – then we can talk."

At about quarter past six, Giles was at his desk, cleaning his glasses, and Buffy was pacing back and forth.

"...That is why you cannot have this child... it'll mean the end of the world."

"But we've been through apocalypses before, Giles!" she pleaded. "And we've beaten them all!"

After a few moments of silence, the former librarian said, "I don't think we can win this time, Buffy."

The Slayer began playing with the rings on her fingers, twisting them around in little circles. Giles put his glasses back on and read through some of his books.

"I haven't been completely honest," she admitted.

Giles looked up.

"What haven't you told me?"

"Well... this baby? Not Angelo's."

Giles rose from his seat, his face full of shock.

"Then who's the father?"

Buffy continued pacing. "I can't tell you..."

"And why not?" Giles spat as he walked over towards her.

"Because I made a promise to keep a secret. And the less people that know, the better. If you tell your spy friend, things will get screwed up."

"Buffy... you can trust me," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "You know how I feel about you."

She looked into his eyes, and finally nodded.

"I love you like a father... even more than my own," she stated. "Okay, I'll tell you. But no one else can know, okay? Not Dawn, not Andrew, and definitely not that British spy."

"I understand."

"Remember Angel's war against the Senior Partners? And how I flew over to L.A. to help?"

"Yes, of course. You and the other Slayers helped defeat them. Did Angel somehow..."

"No."

"Then what does this have to do with..."

"It's Spike. He somehow came back, and was working with Angel."

"Spike?"

"After the battle was over, I began to look for him. Guess where I found him? Sunnydale."

"How did he..."

"I'm not quite sure. He's explained it to me but it really confused me. Basically, it had something to do with the amulet."

"Wow. So you've been hiding Spike's existence for all these months?"

"I had to. If Angelo had known, we were both dead."

Giles stared at his Slayer.

"You were having an affair with Spike, weren't you?"

"Well..."

"That's why the Immortal wants you dead. He found out about it, and knew the baby wasn't his."

"But he doesn't know it's Spike."

"Buffy, I can't believe you..."

"Are you mad at me?" she asked quietly.

"I think you're bloody stupid," he stated crossly. Then his voice softened. "But I'm just glad you told me. I'll do whatever it takes to help you."


End file.
